Someone please tell me why...

Why is it going to cost the consumer up to 50 BILLION to repair the electricity grid when the mother-[I love Jeeps] have been gouging the [I love Jeeps] out of us for decades and never maintaining it? I dont get it... we have been paying for power and for ass-munches like the wigs at Enron to get fat for forever... and now that the energy pipeline (if you will) has a [I love Jeeps] hole in it WE have to pony up the bills to fix it? What a load of [I love Jeeps]!

Simple....Consumer Society. You want it...they have it...they're going to charge you as much as they can for it and get away with it cuz you will continue to buy it and the profits will pay the politicans and investors who own a interest in it.

Supply and Demand..There will never be a surplus. If the market gets saturated theres no way to make money, therefore no need to be in business. Do you think the ELectric Companies wanted the power to go out? They lost Billions in revenues, They want to keep the power flowing, thats how they make money. I really think they experienced a failure they dont understand. When they do, they will fix it but they will pass the cost along to you because you want a reliable power system. Thats how it works.

The power companies have been pocketing all that money for years because the greens won't let them spend it on upgrades and expansions. If they could, they would spend it on new stuff, if only because it allows them to make the same money for less effort (higher-efficiency equipment means less downtime/repair costs). The greenies and other eco-idiots (read:Sierra Club) have spent b-b-b-billions on opposing any new power plants or new transmission lines or substations.

And the sheeple go along with it for 2 reasons:

1) They honestly think they are doing something for the environment, and it won't have any consequences (like a 6-state blackout, for instance)

2) The sheeple don't want anything ugly or (apparently) dangerous like high-tension lines or powerplants (or wind generators, even though they constantly whine about not having alternative energy sources. See Sen. Ted Kennedy's opposition to generators in Nantucket Sound, even though he constantly whines about how we need them, just not where they spoil his view of the ocean. He exemplifies what all these idiots are guilty of: NIMBY/BANANA syndrome. /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif

It's no different than dealing drugs. First you let the consumers get hooked on it and then you raise the prices. Simple as that! If the majority of the consumers decided to turn the lights out for just one week, the prices would fall to a more easlily swallowed sum. But as long as we demand more power, the prices will continue to rise. /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

There are LEGIONS of middle-management tie-wearing "professionals" crunching numbers every DAY to maximize the profits. Do you really think they PRIORITIZE the reliability factor more than they are forced to? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Last night a co-worker had an interesting theory on the matter... You know how the cities were supposed to come up with an emergency management plan to deal with problems in the event of terrorism? Well what if the National Government had it shut down to test the emergency plans of places like NYC, Detroit, and the others that got knocked out... Just to see how well the emergency plans would be able to be placed into action...

I have a sort of hard time believing relays are really going to need much maintenance to function properly, and the other equipment, etc... I don't buy the whole 3 or 4 transmission lines in Ohio either...

The only problem with this theory is 1) if it's correct, I can expect the NSA, CIA, FBI or a combination of the above to knock on my door, and 2) even if it were right, nobody is going to ever come out and say it...

Sandman:
[ QUOTE ]
I have a sort of hard time believing relays are really going to need much maintenance to function properly, and the other equipment, etc... I don't buy the whole 3 or 4 transmission lines in Ohio either...

[/ QUOTE ]
Those transmission lines and relays, and all that other equipment, is carrying over 300,000 volts of electricity 24/7/365. Most of the stuff was built and installed in the 50's and 60's, and not much has been upgraded over the years. 30+ years of environmental exposure and nonstop use would cause problems with an anvil, much less a nationwide electrical power distribution system that is carrying more load than it was designed for.
Now I'm not saying there weren't other factors involved, because I'm sure there were. Probably more causal factors than we'll ever hear about. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I personally don't believe in a "conspiracy theory" on this one.
Just my 2 cents...

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